- 2023 will focus more on click-through rate (CTR) than ranking. CTR measures the number of clicks your link received vs. the number of people that saw it.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a must for businesses today. Enterprise Apps Today reports that 75 per cent of people never go beyond the first search engine results page.
So, company websites must have excellent SEO to rank on the first page and improve their chances of acquiring new customers.
One way to do so is to follow trends. This grants you insight into the latest strategies, allowing you to rise above your competition. If you’d like to boost your company’s presence in 2023, keep reading for the latest SEO trends.
Improved link building
Link building is a standard SEO practice. It involves getting numerous websites to link to yours. In 2023, new link-building practices will emerge. One is getting a backlink from a website with fewer backlinks over a website with thousands of backlinks. Backlinks are more valuable because they point to your site.
Thus, getting a backlink from a site with a limited quantity—including yours—tells the search engine that it is high-quality content.
Another practice is considering the linking domain’s quality and relevance to your site. Ayima Kickstart notes that incoming external backlinks from other websites are vital to SEO success because it improves credibility, thus raising your ranking.
For instance, getting external backlinks from top retail sites if you’re in the retail industry. Increase backlinks by posting reliable content—such as statistics—to attract major sites and encourage them to link to your page.
Using TikTok for SEO
TikTok is a short-form video platform that has become immensely popular in recent years. This popularity is sure to continue in 2023. Because TikTok utilises quick videos, people consume more content in a shorter time.
Fast Company reveals that TikTok SEO is an emerging trend because 40 per cent of 18-24 year-olds favour social media search over Google. For example, they’ll use TikTok to look for a restaurant rather than Google Maps.
Use hashtags in your TikTok captions to rank higher on the app. If you’re in the marketing industry, search for marketing hashtags and paste the top result onto your caption. It’ll also help to use specific hashtags, such as #smallbusinessmarketing. This allows you to reach a broad yet specific audience to discover your company.
Focusing on click-through rate
SEO’s past goal was ranking number one on the first page of search engine results. There was an impression that the first site was the most-clicked link. However, 2023 will focus more on click-through rate (CTR) than ranking. CTR measures the number of clicks your link received vs. the number of people that saw it.
Rank has a weak correlation with website traffic because advertisements, snippets, and question boxes litter the top portion of results. As such, ranking number one does not mean it will be the most-clicked site.
To increase CTR, follow the title and meta description word counts. Using too many words will cut these off, preventing the person from knowing your page’s content.
Stick to 60 characters for your title and 180 for your description. Being straightforward compels people to click because you’ve shown what they want in your title and description alone.
Optimising content for voice search
Voice searches are becoming more commonplace. DBS Interactive finds that 41 per cent of adults use it daily, as it’s convenient for multitasking.
BGR India states that smart speaker shipments were over 39.3 million in 2021. These speakers are interactive, allowing users to ask questions and make commands.
This is why you should optimise your content for voice searches. Target keywords in the form of questions, like “How do I debone a chicken?” or “Where is x restaurant?”.
Create posts that answer common customer questions related to your business to rank higher on voice searches.
Following SEO trends put you at an advantage over your competition.
Keep these trends in mind to boost your company’s presence in 2023. If you liked this article, read more of our work here at TechChannel News.
- J. Bence is a freelance writer who specialises in topics on digital marketing trends – including SEO. With her pieces, she aims to help companies take advantage of what the post-digital transformation business landscape has to offer.